The Oakland Athletics were able to drive in runs and and hold off the Colorado Rockies this afternoon to win the third and final game of the series at the O.Co Coliseum. The Athletics were able to strike early and score timely runs throughout the game. Oakland’s pitching was able to keep the Rockies at bay and starter Jesse Hahn went six strong innings allowing only one earned run and striking out six. This is Hahn’s fourth start of his last six where he has allowed just one earned run. Overall, a solid game of baseball was played by the A’s today at the O.Co.
Highlights
The Oakland Athletics were able to get on the board early in the second inning when Eric Sogard drove in Billy Butler on a sacrifice fly after Butler had tripled to start the bottom half of the inning. The next inning seemed to repeat itself when the other Billy – Billy Burns – tripled to start off the bottom of the third. Even though Stephen Vogt and Ben Zobrist grounded out after Burns’ at-bat, Josh Reddick was able to bring the rookie home with a line drive RBI single to right field.
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With the A’s leading 2-0 going into the fourth, Colorado’s Ben Paulsen doubled off of Hahn with two outs. Nick Hundley then stepped up to the plate next and hit a bat-breaking RBI double to left field, which allowed Paulsen to score. The Athletics were only up by one run now – a worrisome scenario.
Thankfully, Oakland was able to score twice more throughout the game – once in the fifth and once in the seventh. With the bases loaded in the fifth, Butler’s bat came alive once again and he singled, which helped Burns to score. In the seventh, Mark Canha pinch hit for Ike Davis and hit into a fielder’s choice to center allowing Zobrist scored from third.
After Hahn exited in the sixth inning, the Athletics’ bullpen was able to shut down the the Rockies’ lineup as well as get out of some jams and help Oakland keep its lead throughout the remaining innings. Tyler Clippard retired the last four batters easily and that was the ball game. The A’s are now 36-45 at the season’s halfway point.
The Good
The Athletics were able to score with men were in scoring position. Specifically, in the third and fifth innings when the bases were loaded. The A’s leave an average of seven runners stranded on base each game, which is the fourth worst in the MLB, so it is a nice change to see them drive in some runs during key moments in the game.
The Bad
Marcus Semien committed his 25th error this afternoon. He is now tied for the most errors by an A’s shortstop in 17 years. Additionally, Semien has eight more errors than any other major league ball player. Even though his defense has been improving, it’s hard not to get frustrated when he makes another mistake.
The Notable
- Butler’s bat has been heating up lately. In today’s game, he went 2-for-3 and even hit a triple. He has not earned a triple since 2012.
- The Rockies’ Nolan Arenado, who has been red-hot this season, went 0-for-4 today and broke his 17-game hitting streak.
- Sonny Gray is out of the hospital after a bout of gastroenteritis and should be rejoining the team tomorrow. However, Saturday’s starting pitcher, which would be Gray’s next start, is still TBD.
Up Next
The Oakland Athletics will take on the Seattle Mariners in their last homestand before the All-Star break. Scott Kazmir will be tossing for the A’s and he hopes to rebound after the loss to the Kansas City Royals during his last outing where he allowed three earned runs. Lefty Roenis Elias will be on the bump for the Mariners. Elias is coming off of two extra days of rest after the Mariners shuffled around their rotation. The Athletics have their work cut out for them with Elias because he is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his two starts against Oakland in 2014.
Next: Oakland Athletics Prospect Profile: Shortstop Richie Martin